There's Never a Perfect Time
by foxfire79
Summary: Just some Jyn/Cassian fluffiness. I'm not changing the end of the film at all, just expanding on the events leading up to their inevitable end. Updated, fixed spelling errors.
1. Jyn

**There's Never A Perfect Time - A Star Wars: Rogue One Fan Fiction by Foxfire79 (Jyn/Cassian)**

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Do I look like I own freakin' Star Wars? Very well then, let's get this over with: No, I don't own the Star Wars franchise, if I did I'd be living pretty off royalties for the rest of my days. The world saw fit to not bless me in such a way, and so here I sit, writing fictions about my favourite characters instead. No bitterness here. Avert your eyes.

Alright, so regarding this little story here... I'm not going AU or creating a new ending where our favourite rebel and captain get to live happily ever after. I saw the movie twice and bawled my eyes out twice even though I knew it was coming the second time. I'm just extrapolating from the information we already have. So here we go then!

I have a bad feeling about *thonk* ... Ow.

 **Jyn**

They'd done it. They'd actually succeeded, or at least she hoped they had. The tower had said the transmission had gone through, and that was technically the end of their mission. Their mission. Cassian. Cassian had come for her. If he hadn't somehow managed to beat down his pain enough to follow her up to the tower, Krennic would have... He would have... She looked away from the crumpled body in the cape and brought her attention back to Cassian, suddenly the most important person in her world. She turned from the console and took a step towards him, trying to ignore the pain in her ankle and the other assorted injuries she'd accumulated in the past few minutes. She inhaled a deep, hissing breath, steeled herself and tried not to limp.

He looked a lot worse than she did. Of course, he had been shot, and fallen down at least two levels in the archive, hitting multiple steel beams on his way down. The only reason he'd been shot was because he'd pushed her behind him to protect her from Krennic's blast. A purely selfless act, from the man she suddenly realised she didn't actually know that much about. Maybe it wasn't a selfless act, maybe he'd weighed up the odds of who could climb up the archive to the roof more quickly and the odds had been in her favour. Maybe he'd thought that if Krennic shot one of them he'd be satisfied that the other would be too mentally crushed to finish their mission, and not take Jyn's speed and determination into account. Or maybe he'd just been the easier target, being taller and more muscular then her. Jyn closed her eyes briefly, cursing herself for thinking of Cassian's muscles while he bled to death in front of her.

She made it over to him, and felt herself starting to tear up. He was a lot worse off then she'd assumed. The blaster wound in his abdomen was steadily leaking blood all the way down his body, and showed no sign of slowing. One of his arms hung limply by his side, while he held the other closely to his chest, still clutching his blaster tightly. He also seemed to be favouring one leg over the other, but his grave injuries were not the reason for her sudden tears. It was the look of pure relief on his face once he'd seen that she'd survived up to this point. Cassian cared that she was still alive, had actually insured it by shooting Krennic. She assumed he would have shot Krennic anyway, mostly in retribution for Krennic shooting him first, but still... It wasn't just relief in his face though, there was something else, beneath all the bruises, blood and the pain in his eyes, something she couldn't quite place...

He reached out to her with the arm and hand that still clutched his blaster, and almost knocked her over with his weight. It turned out he wasn't just favouring one leg, he could barely stand. With their faces almost touching, Jyn pushed an errant lock of hair out of his eyes, and couldn't help her mouth quirking up at the corner.

"Took you long enough."

Cassian chuckled, then winced, leaning heavily against both her and the elevator wall.

"Forgive me, I was otherwise occupied."

Jyn didn't mind that he was leaning on her, almost to the point that she would collapse from both his weight and her own exhaustion. She could feel his body heat soaking into her through both sets of their clothes, and couldn't help but move closer to him, while the elevator brought them back down to the facility. When the doors opened she knew they'd probably have to fight their way through even more Imperials before they could even fathom thinking about making it to Bodhi and their ship, if there would be time at all. For all they knew, Krennic had commanded that when the elevator descended anybody on board should be shot. This could be all the time they had. Jyn could feel Cassian's chin resting on top of her head, and his harried breathing against her side.

"So, this is us, saving the Universe. Who'd have thought I'd be saving the Universe? And that I'd be a rebel?"

Cassian loosely wrapped his injured arm around her, and she leaned even closer to him.

"Someone had to do it. Why not us?"

Jyn sighed and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth.

"Why not us."

They traveled the rest of the way in silence, and when the descent speed began to slow she felt Cassian start to tense beside her again. Then the doors slid open to... nothing. Well, not nothing, but no line of storm troopers ready to shoot them to pieces. The base seemed to be in a panic, people rushing everywhere, and not paying any attention to the two injured, grimy rebels exiting the elevator. They glanced at each other, then Cassian winced again, almost dropping to his knees. Jyn could tell that his temperature was much higher than it should have been, just from the heat baking through his clothes into her, but they had to get out, they had to take this chance. She also knew that if he dropped to the ground there'd be no way she could pick him back up again. She threw his 'good' arm over her shoulder, relieving him of his blaster, much to his chagrin.

"Whoa there, Captain. You're no good to me on the ground."

He coughed, or it could have been a laugh, as he tightened his grip around her shoulders.

"You could join me down here, make the most of these last few minutes I have."

Jyn stopped in her tracks, mouth dropping open, before she re-positioned his arm over her shoulders, and took the safety off the blaster. Cassian was bleeding out, could barely move, and was burning up with fever, and yet somehow he'd just managed to flirt with her. She couldn't see his face from the position they were standing in, but she assumed he'd be smirking. This was the first time he'd tried anything like this with her. Maybe he felt that he was close enough to death that he could get away with it. Cheeky bastard. Two could play at this game, however now was not the time. They turned the corner leading to the next elevator which would lead them to the ground floor and access to the landing bays and beach. Two storm troopers seemed to be guarding the elevator, and they straightened up as Jyn and Cassian approached. Before they could even draw their weapons, Jyn whipped the blaster up and shot them both through the helmets, dropping them to the floor.

"Or you could keep walking, we can escape this hellhole, and then you can have your way with me in a comfortable bed in a nice safe Rebellion base. Your choice."

Cassian sighed, leaning even more heavily on her.

"A bed sounds good right about now. Anything else would have to wait though, I just need to sleep..."

Jyn closed her eyes, took a deep breath and elbowed Cassian in the ribs, hard. He gasped then straightened up, easing some of his weight from her. They stumbled into the elevator, pressing the down button almost in afterthought as the doors slid closed on them. Cassian fumbled with the communicator in his pocket, then looked over at Jyn helplessly. He was clearly starting to lose control of his finer motor functions. She took it from him wordlessly, then depressed the button, trying to raise somebody from their team.

"Chirrut? Baze? Bodhi? Rogue One, come in? Anybody?"

The silence and static coming from the device was not comforting, and neither was the growing pool of blood beneath Cassian's feet. His breath was still racing, his chest rising and falling in such a shallow rhythm than Jyn was surprised he was getting any oxygen at all. Cassian, even while leaning against the elevator wall, hadn't broken their eye contact. She found herself drowning in his deep brown gaze, and found herself unconsciously licking her lips. She took her finger off the button and let the communicator drop to the floor.

"It could just be interference from the elevator?"

He was still trying to raise her spirits, even when he was bleeding out in front of her. She shook her head, limping to stand in front of him. She raised her gaze to his, then closed her eyes, leaning into him, wrapping her arms around him, holding him as closely and as hard as she could without hurting him. She felt his breath falter for a moment, then felt his arms encircle her loosely, and the pressure of his head resting on top of hers once more. She knew it wasn't interference, and she knew that he knew that also. The others were all most likely dead, even if the fleet had made it through the planet's shield. This had been a suicide mission from the beginning, a rag tag bunch of rebels stealing a ship to go unsanctioned to a secure Imperial base to retrieve something which may or may not actually be there. The fact that they'd made it this far was surely just luck... Or the Force working through them. Her eyes started to blur again as she thought of Chirrut and his holy teachings. If the Force was indeed working through them, then why was Cassian dying before her eyes?

The elevator doors slid open revealing chaos. Storm troopers and others wearing Imperial science uniforms were scurrying into escape ships, while looking up at the sky, terrified. Jyn looked up and gasped, stopping in her tracks. Was that...? Cassian stumbled beside her, looking up and cursing.

"Well, now we know..."

Jyn blindly reached between them, eventually finding Cassian's hand and grasping it tightly. The Death Star, in all of its terrible glory, was cresting the horizon. It looked so serene, like an early moon-rise, but Jyn recognised what it's arrival meant for them. The facility would be the test target, most likely, or the entire planet. She looked over to where Bodhi and their ship should have been and saw only a crater, surrounded by un-moving figures. She looked up at the Death Star again, and sighed, tightening her grasp on Cassian's hand, and she was relieved when his fingers squeezed hers in return. A strange sort of calm fell over her as she continued regarding the planet destroyer that her father had designed and built, with one tiny exploitable flaw that the Rebellion hopefully now had the plans to.

"Yeah, now we know..."

She knew that it was real, and that their deaths were inevitable. She wanted to go to the beach. For no reason other that she wanted to see the ocean one last time, possibly feel the sand between her toes. The palm trees swayed slightly and the sun baked down on them. She could feel the heat of the sand through her boots, and decided against shedding them. She'd rather spend her last few moments comfortable than trying to deal with burning feet. Cassian seemed to be leaning most of his weight on her narrow shoulders again, making walking on the sand almost impossible. She stumbled the last few metres to the shore, when her ankle gave out finally, making her drop to the ground heavily, dragging Cassian with her. He grunted in pain as he landed, then pulled himself up into a half sitting position, dragging her roughly back into his arms. His heart was racing, and his breathing was so shallow... He didn't have long. But then again, neither of them did. She hoped he'd hold on until... Well, she didn't need to dwell on it. He coughed again, running one of his hands through her hair. She leaned into his touch, savouring it.

"So, raincheck?"

She knew what he was referring to, and couldn't help a small smile from ghosting across her lips.

"Definitely."

Jyn looked back up the Death Star, and could see the targeting lasers starting to fire up. She pulled away, albeit reluctantly, from Cassian's embrace, and stood up, moving closer to the ocean's edge. The Death Star was minutes from killing them, and all she could do was admire it's deadly beauty. If her father had been anything, he had been a brilliant engineer. She wondered if, given the time and training, she may have followed in his footsteps, instead of becoming an outcast, a criminal, and then a rebel. If she had though, she probably would have never met the man that was clumsily pulling himself to his feet behind her. She turned, holding out a hand to help him up, and he batted her away gently. She tried not to look at the dark patch of sand that he'd left behind. Cassian remained upright, though unsteady, and he limped sluggishly towards her, pulling her into a rough hug against his chest. He pulled her in tightly, even though his arms and ribs were probably screeching in agony. She looked out at the Death Star and saw the targeting lasers merge, and the huge beam that the thousands of stolen Kyber crystals created seemed to pierce the horizon.

"Beautiful..."

Jyn didn't know why she whispered the word, but somehow it seemed fitting. Now her family could reunite in the afterlife. She wondered what her father would have thought of Cassian, then wondered what her father would have thought of her. Cassian's arms tightened around her, and she felt him bury his face against her shoulder.

"Your father... He'd have been proud of you..."

Jyn suddenly realised what the look that she couldn't quite place, the look that Cassian had had on his face when he'd shot Krannic and saved her, had been. Love. She felt it too, though hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. She'd only known the stoic captain for a couple of short months, how could love blossom in such a short time? She had to admit though, that she'd found him attractive from the first moment she'd seen him. Even though he had been an unlikable arse towards her in the beginning. Right now though, with his arms wrapped tightly around her, and his warm breath in her ear, telling her that her father would have been proud of her, she knew she loved him. The horizon was quickly being eaten up as debris started to rush across the ocean's surface towards them. She clutched him more tightly, hearing him breathe in sharply with a hiss. She had to tell him. The searing wind from the approaching shock-wave was starting to tousle their hair. She looked up at him, and already found him looking down at her, his eyes so full of the same emotion she was feeling she almost couldn't speak. Her eyes started to water again, but from tears or the oncoming storm she couldn't tell. She took a deep breath and couldn't help it once again as her lips quirked up into a small smile. What better time was there to confess to the person you loved?

"Cassian Andor..."

END OF PART 01

Well, that's part one done! I haven't written for a while, but I am on holiday at the moment so hopefully I'll catch up. I'm already well into part two of this so it won't be too long! Hope you're enjoying it so far, and as always, read, review and enjoy!

Foxfire out!


	2. Cassian

There's Never A Perfect Time - A Star Wars: Rogue One Fan Fiction by Foxfire79 (Jyn/Cassian)

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Do I look like I own freakin' Star Wars? Very well then, let's get this over with: No, I don't own the Star Wars franchise, if I did I'd be living pretty off royalties for the rest of my days. The world saw fit to not bless me in such a way, and so here I sit, writing fictions about my favourite characters instead. No bitterness here. Avert your eyes.

Alright, so regarding this little story here... I'm not going AU or creating a new ending where our favourite rebel and captain get to live happily ever after. I saw the movie twice and bawled my eyes out twice even though I knew it was coming the second time. I'm just extrapolating from the information we already have. So here we go then!

I have a bad feeling about *thonk* ... Ow.

Cassian

He was going to die. He'd been shot, quite badly, by that rat bastard Krennic. Then he'd lost his grip, and footing, and had fallen from the wall of the archive, hitting pretty much every steel beam in creation. That's what it had felt like at least. But that wasn't the thing that had hurt the most, no, the thing that wrenched his guts and made his heart palpitate was Jyn Erso screaming his name as he fell, and the utter despair and loss in her tone. He'd wanted to yell back that he was fine, then he'd had the wind knocked out of him by the first of what had felt like hundreds of beams hitting him. Well technically, he'd hit them on his way down, but he didn't want to think about it like that. When in doubt, blame the Empire. He'd drifted in and out of consciousness for a few minutes, or what he'd hoped was a few minutes, before attempting to roll onto his back.

"Aaargh, damnit!"

He tried to move his left arm up to explore the blaster wound in his side and closed his eyes, hissing in pain. There was definitely something wrong with his elbow. Possibly broken, or at least sprained. His right arm didn't feel much better, but at least he could raise it and bend the elbow enough to explore the wound. As with all blaster wounds, it felt cauterised around the edges, but his falling seemed to have opened the wound again. Yes, that was definitely blood oozing out between his fingers, and it didn't seem to be slowing. His legs hadn't fared much better, but he didn't think either of them was broken at least. His knees felt rubbery, possibly from the shock of falling, or the massive blood loss. Also he was rather lightheaded, but that seemed like a minor malady, looking at his current state as a whole. He was also stuck. He looked back up to where Krannic and his trooper friend had been shooting from, then glanced up at the roof hatch that he assumed Jyn would have climbed through. There was no way in the world he'd be able to make it to the roof in his current state, so his best bet was to try and climb back up to that wall access.

Cassian heaved himself into a seated position, breathing heavily, then grabbed hold of the archive shelf beside him to bring his legs beneath him. A groan escaped him as he finally stood, feeling the weakness in his legs, the now stretched wound in his guts, and the dizziness in his head which he definitely couldn't ignore. It was a concussion, for certain. That's what you get for banging your head so many times, on so many steel beams. He fought back another groan, this time directed at himself, and surveyed the lay of the land. The easiest path would be to climb back up the archive, and jump across to the access panel. Easiest path. Right. He could barely stand, let alone climb. But he knew that Krennic wouldn't stop until he'd stopped Jyn, and he knew he couldn't let that happen. He pulled himself up the first rank of shelves, and cried out in pain, his head swimming again.

Since when had he turned into such a dependable guy? Here he was, rushing (well, limping) to the defence of a helpless (maybe not so helpless) woman who he'd barely known for two months. In those two months she had proven herself though, to both himself and the cause. Rebellion seemed to suit her. Since the day that they'd 'rescued' her from the Imperial prison transport, he'd grown used to her outburts of rebellious patriotism, peppered with sullen comebacks, and her propensity for violence in the place of diplomacy. In many ways they were very alike. And he couldn't help but admit to himself, in his current weakened state, that when she looked at him with those blazing green eyes, it was all he could do to stop himself from pushing her up against the hull of the ship and kissing her senseless. Of course, once he'd started with kisses, he'd have to go further, claim her entirely just for him. He'd spent many sleepless nights trying not to think about her diminutive figure and how she'd fit perfectly in his bed with him. And he'd caught her looking at him appraisingly, on more than one occasion. He'd looked away quickly enough, but had noticed the slight blush coming into her cheeks, knowing she'd been caught watching him. Sleepless nights indeed.

His head dropped forward, hitting one of the databanks and jarring him back into reality. Climbing, he was supposed to be climbing. His legs felt like lead, and he could feel blood dripping down his side, soaking his trousers, running into his boots, making his footing slick. His left arm was on fire, at least that's what it felt like, and he clung to the databank and pulled himself higher. He couldn't seem to take a deep breath without his chest burning. He could add broken ribs to his current list of injuries, fantastic. He climbed higher until he was opposite the now empty open doorway, and perused his options; let go of the databank and fall to his inevitable death, jump across to the access panel and possibly injure himself further with a hard landing, or just stay holding onto this shelf like a coward until he bled out. Option two seemed to be the best bet. He took a deep breath and pushed away from the databank with all of his strength, leaping toward the open access door. As he'd thought, he landed heavily, jarring his leg badly against the metal edge of the doorway, but he had made it. He grimaced and leaned heavily against the wall, holding in a groan of pain.

"Looks like I still have some chances left..."

The access panel led straight into a darkened elevator, which Cassian hoped would still be in working order. It turned out one of his random shots had knocked the lights out, but that was all. He pressed the button marked 'roof' and tried not to collapse on the floor. He knew that if he dropped, he probably wouldn't get up again, and then what good would he be to Jyn? He hoped he'd arrive and find her with an exultant grin, ready to throw herself at him with a hug of fearsome joy, but he knew he'd never be that lucky. The elevator ride seemed to be taking forever, or it could have just been the disorienting darkness and his pounding head. His right hand moved to touch the blaster wound, and he winced as his fingers touched slick wetness and rough burned flesh. He lifted his hand to his eyes, and rubbed away some of the sweat running down that was also blurring his vision. His hand came away red from his forehead and he swore, rubbing his fingers dry on his ruined trousers. Head injury as well as a concussion. He was surprised he was upright at all. The elevator slowed and stopped as it reached it's destination, and the doors cracked open, flooding the almost black space within with bright sunlight. The light made Cassian feel physically ill, but he persevered, creeping out of the elevator as silently as he could manage, and was faced with a heart-stopping sight.

Krennic was facing down a rather worse-for-wear Jyn. He could see that the bridge behind her was falling apart, most likely hit by one of the crashing ships or some stray cannon fire. From the look of her she'd either been caught in the blast or had been very close to it. She appeared to be limping and looked about ready to murder someone. Krennic said something that clearly goaded her, and she pulled herself up straighter, staring him down with such fire that Cassian felt his heart lurch. Then he remembered the blaster that he'd holstered in the waistband of his trousers during the interminably long elevator ride. He turned the safety off and tried to aim at Krennic's head, but the world had started spinning again. He leaned heavily against the wall, wiped his left hand over his eyes, which granted him another explosion of pain in that arm, and tried to aim again. Krennic's chest was a larger target, and he seemed to be steadier now that he was leaning most of his weight on the wall. He fired the blaster, feeling the shot reverberate all the way up his arm, and grinned with triumph when he saw Krennic crumble to the ground. He didn't know where he'd hit the man, just that he had. Revenge sure was sweet. Besides, Krennic had shot first.

He looked up from the body to see Jyn limping the last few steps toward the satellite controls and triumphantly throwing the switch that would transmit the plans to the Rebel fleet. He felt himself relax against the wall even more, and started seeing black spots in the corners of his vision. That couldn't be a good sign. He straightened up, grinding his left elbow against the elevator door. The pain seemed to help him keep his wits about him, because his clearing eyes showed a worried Jyn hurrying towards him, trying to disguise her very obvious limp. His head was still pounding but he kept his eyes on her as she approached, not wanting to look away for fear that she might not actually be there and just be a figment of his many injuries. She rested on the wall beside him and he reached out, still holding the blaster in his right hand, pulling her in closer. Jyn reached up and pushed some of his hair out of his eyes, and he found himself leaning in to her touch, wanting more.

"Took you long enough."

He chuckled, but his broken ribs objected to the sound, trailing off into a pained cough. He was sure that he'd seen tears in her eyes as she'd approached him, and he'd wondered why she'd been crying, but this was not the time to ask. She was almost smiling now. Maybe she was just as glad that he was alive as he was about her.

"Forgive me, I was otherwise occupied."

He could feel his knees growing weaker, and the wound leaking more blood, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stand up for much longer. He rested his chin on top of Jyn's head, hoping he wasn't leaning too heavily on her, and knowing that she wouldn't tell him if he was. He could feel her shifting gently as she stood beside him, one arm wrapped around him as if she didn't want to let him go. He could feel himself starting to fade out again, then her voice drew him back to consciousness.

"So, this is us, saving the Universe. Who'd have thought I'd be saving the Universe? And that I'd be a rebel?"

Cassian pulled her closer with his left arm, gritting his teeth against the pain and instead concentrating on how good it felt to finally hold the woman he... well... felt things for. He couldn't admit it to himself, even now, even with her in his arms. There was no place in this world for Cassian the coward.

"Someone had to do it. Why not us?"

Jyn sighed, and relaxed slightly in his embrace, and he gulped, tightening his grip on her even though his arm screamed in protest.

"Why not us."

When she said it, it wasn't a question, it was a statement. It made him stand slightly taller, even though his wound stretched again, dripping fresh blood down his shirt. The elevator started to slow down, signalling that it was nearing its destination. Cassian tried to stand up straighter, and readied his blaster as the doors opened, letting the muted light of the facility into the dark elevator. Strangely, nobody tried to shoot them as the doors slid open fully, and they crept forward out into the corridor. It was now that the blaster wound in his guts decided that it couldn't be ignored any longer, and started throbbing, almost forcing him to his knees. He could feel himself growing faint again, but Jyn grabbed his arm, forcing him back into his painful reality. She also took his gun. The absolute cheek of her.

"Whoa there, Captain. You're no good to me on the ground."

In his delirious state, the first thought that popped into his mind was Jyn straddling him lying on the ground, kissing him as if her life depended on it. The errant thought made him laugh, which in turn became another painful cough. Then again, they were here together in what could possibly be his last moments. He had to try at least.

"You could join me down here, make the most of these last few minutes I have."

It was a statement, not a question. A small part of him hoped that she'd take him up on the offer. It wouldn't be a bad way to go out, especially with her. He felt her stop moving for a moment as she seemed to realise what he'd just suggested, and a small smirk flitted across his face. He'd always been called charming. It was probably just his accent. He heard her flicking the safety on the blaster off as she dragged/assisted him around the corner, and two quick shots as she took out the two storm troopers guarding the next elevator.

"Or you could keep walking, we can escape this hellhole, and then you can have your way with me in a comfortable bed in a nice safe Rebellion base. Your choice."

He sighed at the mention of a comfortable bed, the events of the day catching up with him all of a sudden. After all, he was going to die, although he had been lucky up to this point. Maybe they still had a few chances saved up between them? He leaned on her a little more as they waited for the elevator to arrive, his eyes starting to slip closed.

"A bed sounds good right about now. Anything else would have to wait though, I just need to sleep..."

He was jolted out of his reverie by a sharp jab in his bruised ribs, causing a pained gasp to escape his lips. He straightened up a little and eased off Jyn's shoulder as they entered the now present elevator and descended to the ground level. Cassian fumbled the communicator out of his pocket and tried to press the button to call Bodhi and see if the ship was ready. He couldn't seem to push the button in, and realised what was happening. He'd lost a lot of blood, and was starting to lose the feeling in his extremeties. His feet were almost numb, and his hands, well, if he couldn't even depress a button there was no way he'd be able to fire a blaster now. He was thankful that Jyn had taken it from him after all. He looked up at her, watching him with concern, and felt another twinge in his chest. He knew this one wasn't from any of his injuries though. She took the communicator from him and pushed the button with no problems.

"Chirrut? Baze? Bodhi? Rogue One, come in? Anybody?"

He watched her, trying so desperately to cling to what little hope she had that the rest of their team was alive, and he felt helpless. He also felt light headed again, but he refused to break eye contact with her right now. He had to remain strong, for Jyn and for himself. There was always a chance, there had to be. Also, had she just licked her lips while looking back at him? He glanced at her now moist lips before raising his eyes back to hers. Damnit it, even this close to death he still wanted her.

"It could just be interference from the elevator?"

He tried to ignore the now dull ache of his blaster wound as she approached him, shaking her head in resignation. She wrapped her arms around him wordlessly, and held on as tightly as she dared without hurting him. He could tell she was being careful, and he didn't want a bar of it. He wanted her to crush him, he wanted to feel every inch of her pressed up against him, anything to block out the fact that they were definitely within range and any rebels left alive should have picked up that transmission. He rested his chin on top of her head, and tried to cling onto the last shreds of his hope.

The elevator doors opened, bringing with them blinding light that left Cassian reeling. He could only stumble along beside Jyn and when she stopped and gasped, he took a moment to rub his eyes, trying to get his vision to stop blurring for a few moments to see what was going on. He looked up in the same direction as Jyn and had to rub his eyes again.

"What the druk is that?"

He gazed at the slowly appearing orb in the distance, with a sense of growing horror. That was it, the weapon they'd come all the way out here to destroy. Or help destroy, rather. The Death Star. It was beautiful, and terrible, and he couldn't look away.

"Well, now we know..."

Now he knew why all the communications weren't working, and why nobody had answered their hail. The landing pads were a mess of dead bodies, blown up transports, and Imperials scrambling desperately to escape before their base was destroyed by the very weapon they'd helped to create. He felt a small scrambling by his leg, and realised it was Jyn trying to hold his hand. There was no way Bodhi would have managed to escape this devastation, ship intact. There was no escape for them. And he was fine with that.

"Yeah, now we know..."

Jyn sounded different, calm, like she'd come to the same realisation as he had. They would not be leaving this place, alive or otherwise. She seemed to be leading him somewhere, but his mind had started to wander again. He'd never seen palm trees before, not outside of holograms, and yet here they were towering over him, swaying in a pleasant breeze. He stumbled as his boots hit sand, and realised she'd brought them to the beach. He'd never really been to a beach before, and now he was here, with the woman he... loved. He loved her. He loved Jyn Erso. The shoulder he was leaning on suddenly fell out from under him, and he fell gracelessly to the sand. His head was spinning but he had enough of his wits about him to grab hold of Jyn and pull her back into his arms. His Jyn in his arms. His chest felt like it was going to explode, and holding her so tightly made it hard to breathe, but he didn't want to let her go. He lifted his left arm, now pleasantly numb, and ran his hand through her hair. She didn't seem to mind as she leaned in closer to him, resting her head against his chest. He coughed, trying to draw more air into his lungs and failing miserably. He knew he didn't have much time left.

"So, raincheck?"

He felt her smiling into his chest, and smiled himself, knowing he'd made her happy, even now.

"Definitely."

He felt her shift a little against him, then felt a strange emptiness as she stood up and moved closer to the beach. His vision was so dim now he could barely make out her outline as she moved away. He needed to be closer to her. Luckily most of his pain had disappeared now as he rose to his knees, then to make it onto his feet without keeling over. The sand was proving a difficult adversary to conquer, but he made it the few steps to where Jyn was standing. She seemed to be transfixed by something in the distance, but that didn't matter right now. He moved in front of her, pulling her into a hug, which he knew should have hurt him but didn't. He didn't have much time left. He was light-headed, numb and his vision was narrowing at an alarming rate. He couldn't feel his arms around her anymore, or the pain in his legs, or the blaster wound. He had to tell her that he loved her, that was the most important thing, the only thing that mattered, she needed to know. But for some reason the words that came to him first were not the ones he wanted. He'd heard her mumble something while gazing out at whatever she was looking at, and for some reason he'd thought of Galen Erso, standing up for those Imperial scientists, one man against a legion. She was just like him.

"Your father... He'd have been proud of you..."

Cassian looked down at her, focusing on her face, committing her profile to memory. All he could see was her face, everything in his periphery was hazy, shadowy and didn't matter. She looked back up at him, without warning, and the love in her gaze stole away his breath. Her hair was whipping around her face for some reason, but that didn't matter, what mattered was that he had to tell her. He hoped he was still holding her as tightly as she wanted, as he steeled his resolve for this final act of hope.

"Jyn Erso..."

THE END

Yes, this is how it ends. I've always been a fan of that Doctor Who episode that ends with Doctor #10 about to confess his feelings to Rose, then getting cut off before he has the chance. Jyn and Cassian deserved a Doctor Who ending. That is all. Hopefully this wasn't too disappointing! As always, read, review and enjoy!

Foxfire out! 


End file.
